1st Edition

The Politics of Self-Expression The Urdu Middleclass Milieu in Mid-Twentieth Century India and Pakistan

By Markus Daechsel Copyright 2006
266 Pages
by Routledge

266 Pages
by Routledge

272 Pages
by Routledge

The 1930s to 1950s witnessed the rise and dominance of a political culture across much of North India which combined unprecedented levels of mobilization and organization with an effective de-politicization of politics. On the one hand obsessed with world events, people also came to understand politics as a question of personal morality and achievement. In other words, politics was about... Read more
Introduction  1. Urbanization, Bureaucratization and the Emergence of a Middle-Class Milieu  2. New Sign Objects and New Identities  3. Consumption and Romantic Sentimentalism  4. Authenticity, Power and the Magic of Objects  5. The Political Culture of Radical Self-Expression in its Time Period.  Conclusion

Biography

Markus Daechsel has studied history and political science at the University of Erlangen and the University of London. He is currently a lecturer in South Asian History at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests focus on the society, culture and politics of South Asian Muslims.

'Daechsel's study is a deeply thoughtful and rich one, with interesting readings of Urdu sources, and a sophisticated, intriguing argument. His book is an important intervention in the growing work on the politics of selfhood in South Asia, in an interdisciplinary style which admirably suits the complexity of its subject matter and themes' - Javed Majeed, Queen Mary, University of London